All cadets in the most recent Law Enforcement Academy (LEA) class at Lone Star College-University Park passed the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement’s (TCOLE) licensing exam on their first attempt, giving the class a coveted 100 percent pass rate.
According to TCOLE’s figures, the success of LEA’s program has achieved an overall pass rate of 93 percent for 2015 and a pass rate of 100 percent for tests taken so far this year. The current cohort will graduate in December 2016.
“Success on the licensing exam is a clear testimony to the quality of our faculty and the hard work of our students. I am pleased that our program continues to attract and graduate diverse groups of cadets who are from our community and highly qualified to serve our community,” said LSC-University Park President Shah Ardalan.
All cadets who complete the Basic Peace Officer Training Program study cultural diversity -- a module that covers everything from identifying prejudice and facilitating cross-cultural communication to valuing and respecting the beliefs and needs of others, said Law Enforcement Academy Director LaChelle Rhoads.
“Our cadets have an open discussion period in stress management classes where they can bring up any topic, including recent local and national events and headlines,” she explained. “It is an important part of their training.”
Ardalan said the program is making a name for itself with local police agencies.
“We are proud of becoming the preferred source of new officers in our community and see an increasingly growing number of law enforcement agencies recruiting their future peace officers here,” he said.
Rob Hauk, chair of the LEA advisory board and Tomball’s assistant city manager, said the program has reached a new level of success. “Our pass rate continues to climb and our graduates are making a difference in police departments across the region,” he said.
Police agencies that hire the program’s graduates often attend the academy’s graduation ceremonies, officially welcoming new officers in a traditional “pinning ceremony” with the cadets and members of their families.
June graduates who were welcomed to their new jobs during the LEA graduation ceremonies include:
Devin R. Thomas and Christopher Carolan, Humble ISD Police Department; Jeffrey R. Wiesner, Alejandro Grimaldo, Josua D’Sha and Aaron Todd, Harris County Constable’s Office Precinct 5; Patrick Casey, Waller County Sheriff’s Office; and Charles Hawthorne, Texas Medical Center Police Department;
Also Oscar Garcia, Matthew Mace, Justin Martinets, Dormic Smith and James White, Waller County Sheriff’s Office; Thomas Santellana, Waller Police Department and Darryan Simon, Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District Police.
The Academy prepares cadets intellectually, ethically and physically to enter various law enforcement professions.
Lone Star College’s Law Enforcement Academy will offer full-time and part-time (night & day) Basic Peace Officer classes beginning Jan. 17. Interested individuals can apply now. The application deadline for the spring 2017 class is Nov. 18. Applicants must be 21 years old by the end of the class, a U.S. Citizen, hold a diploma or G.E.D. and not have a Class B or higher criminal history. Complete application information is available online at http://www.lonestar.edu/lea.
LSC-University Park will hold open houses for January enrollment on the following Thursdays: Aug. 4 & 25, Sept. 8 & 22, and Oct. 13 & 27. Sessions begin at noon and at 2 p.m. all days. The two-hour open houses are part of orientation so those interested should arrive at least 10 minutes early and need to stay for the entire 2 hours.
For more information about the Law Enforcement Academy, email LEAUP@LoneStar.edu or call 281.290.5025.